A spectacular bank assault takes place in Hamburg
with a high sum of money stolen. The German secret service determine
that the bank robbers are an international group in need of capital.
Carl Hamilton, a Swedish undercover agent with good German knowledge
and experience in the international weapons business, is sent to
Hamburg. In order to infiltrate the group, Hamilton moves into a
hotel on the Reeperbahn and tries to make contacts. He eventually
stages a bank robbery so he can convince the group of his
credibility. He succeeds and is accepted into the syndicate. To
complicate matters, he begins a romantic relationship with the enemy
- a beautiful woman who he tries to save.

Radio Times:
Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård has become an international star thanks
to his excellent performances in films such as Breaking the Waves and
Good Will Hunting. Earlier in his career he was known throughout
northern Europe for complex characterizations, and his secret agent in
this tense thriller is typical of his output. Taken from the novel by
Jan Guillou, the story intriguingly sets the Baader-Meinhof terrorist
group on a mission to destroy European unity. But the real excitement
comes from the fact that Skarsgård's infatuation with Katja Flint
convinces his superiors that he's defected, thus making him a target for
both sides. Briskly directed by Per Berglund, this is essentially
low-budget Bond, but is none the worse for that.

All Movie Guide:
Carl Hamilton is in one sense a peculiar sort of secret agent in that he
has a license to kill but applies his conscience to that license far
more often than is comfortable for him. In another sense, since he is
Swedish, it makes sense that this would be so. In this story, one of a
series of successful films based on this character from the novels of
Jan Guillou, he has been given the task of infiltrating a group of
terrorists operating out of Hamburg, who reportedly intend to attack the
U.S. Embassy in Stockholm. After falling in love with one beautiful
terrorist, he attempts to get her to change her ways by the force of
moral persuasion rather than arms.